Thursday, December 15, 2011

Anderson Cooper 360 Tops MSNBC at 10p and Grows +37%
At 8p AC 360 is Up +40%; while FNC and MSNBC are Down

Piers Morgan Tonight is Up +26% vs. Larry King a Year Ago
CNN Tops MSNBC in Total Day and Daytime

Highlights:
Nielsen YTD-December 11, 2011 vs. same time period a year ago (12/27/10-12/11/11 vs. 12/28/09-12/12/10)Primetime: CNN is up +30% (FNC down -16%, MSNBC up 2%)Total Day: CNN is up +22%, topping MSNBC (a year ago MSNBC topped CNN)Dayside: CNN outperforms MSNBC by +71%
Since AC 360 moved to 8pm, the program is up +40%
AC 360 at 10 pm tops MSNBC and is also up +37%Piers Morgan Tonight is up +26% vs. Larry King a year agoErin Burnett OutFront is up in total viewers vs. same time period a year agoThe Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer tops MSNBC’s Hardball at 5p

Fueled by program line-up changes throughout CNN’s schedule and the successful leveraging of breaking news stories – CNN had significant double-digit ratings growth across all dayparts in 2011 – while FNC lost viewers and MSNBC had very modest gains. CNN grew an impressive +30% in M-F primetime in 2011 and topped MSNBC in total day this year.

Daypart Highlights:
In M-F primetime, CNN increased +30% (242k vs. 186k) in the target demo 25-54 and +16% in total viewers (743k vs. 641k) vs. the same time period a year ago. FNC is down -16% (527k vs. 627k) in the demo and lost -10% among total viewers (2.23m vs. 2.47m) and MSNBC had slight gains in 2011, increasing just 2% (255k vs. 251k) in 25-54 and 4% in total viewers (914k vs. 881k).

In 2011, CNN topped MSNBC in total day (6a-6a) in both the demo (163k vs. 149k) and in total viewers (485k vs. 437k). Last year MSNBC topped CNN in the total day/demo (142k vs. 134k). CNN also had the most growth in 2011, increasing +22% in the key demo vs. 2010 (163k vs. 134k), FNC was down -9% (277k vs. 304k) and MSNBC increased just 5% (149k vs. 142k).

During dayside (9a-5p), CNN had a +71% advantage over MSNBC in the demo (161k vs. 94k) and +55% more total viewers (552k vs. 355k).

Show Highlights:
• Since Anderson Cooper 360 moved to 8p in August, the program has shown impressive growth, up +40% in the demo (196k vs. 140k) and +31% in total viewers (623k vs. 476k) vs. same time period a year ago. Last year, MSNBC had an 86% advantage over CNN, now CNN has erased that gap and has a +5% advantage over MSNBC. Rolling up CNN’s 8p programming from the beginning of the year, CNN was the only program to show growth in 2011 -- increasing +27% in the key demo (185k vs. 146k) and +17% in total viewers (599k vs. 511k); while FNC was down -15% in the demo (676k vs. 799k) and lost -7% in total viewers (2.99m vs. 3.23m). MSNBC was also down 8p this year, decreasing -19% in 25-54 (221k vs. 272k) and was down -12% in total viewers (922k vs. 1.05m).

• AC 360 at 10p topped MSNBC in both the demo (283k vs. 237k) and in total viewers (783k vs. 774k). Last year, MSNBC topped CNN at 10p in the demo. The 10p show delivered solid gains in 2011, increasing +37% among 25-54 (283k vs. 207k) and +18% in total viewers (783k vs. 666k). FNC was down -17% (401k vs. 486k) in the demo and off -12% in total viewers (1.68m vs. 1.91m) and MSNBC was up 12% in the demo (237k vs. 211k) and increased 24% among total viewers (774k vs. 624k).

• Since launching at 9p on January 17, 2011 Piers Morgan Tonight improved substantially over Larry King a year ago -- increasing +26% in the key demo (222k vs. 176k) and growing +9% in total viewers (735k vs. 672k). FNC declined at 9p, losing -13% of its audience in the demo (521k vs. 597k) and is down -10% in total viewers (2.09m vs. 2.32m). This year, MSNBC is up 12% in the key demo (288k vs. 258k) and grew just 4% in total viewers (1.01m vs. 964k).

• CNN’s 7p programming this year (roll up of John King, USA and Erin Burnett OutFront) is also up vs. a year ago – increasing 22% in the key demo (174k vs. 143k) and +13% in total viewers (538k vs. 478k). Since Erin Burnett OutFront launched in October the 7p time period has registered gains of +9% among total viewers (502k vs. 460k) and +1% in the demo (142k vs. 141k) compared to the same time period a year ago.

• The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer topped MSNBC’s Hardball at 5p (177k vs. 158k) in the target demo this year and has grown +16% (177k vs. 152k) vs. a year ago.

• CNN’s Sunday morning programming has also seen solid gains in the key demo this year with State of the Union with Candy Crowley (9a) increasing +19% (162k vs. 136k), Fareed Zakaria GPS (10a) growing +24% (154k vs. 124k), and Reliable Sources is up +37% (175k vs. 128k).

• CNN Presents, home of CNN’s long-form documentary programming (Sunday at 8p) has also seen significant gains this year, increasing +38% in the target demo (174k vs. 126k) vs. the same time period a year ago.

Audience Reach:
Throughout 2011, CNN held a consistently strong advantage over its competitors in cumulative audience. On an average monthly basis for 2011 to date (Jan-November) CNN reached 99.4m viewers, 20% ahead of FNC (82.8m) and 23% in front of MSNBC (80.7m).

6 comments:

Anonymous
said...

360 saved CNN. Things will get interesting nextyear. ED is moving in the wrong direction. Howlong before the viewership numbers get reallyclose between Anderson and ED. MSNBC is havinga hard time after losing Countdown.

Who writes this cr--?Erin Burnett is up in totals from this time last year??????OH pleaze someone give me a break!And MSNBC is doing far better than CNN, according to factual ratings by TVN.Morning Joe is tops in the ratings every morning and ED has a loyal base and O'Donell beats 360 consistently and we haven't even touched on Rachel Maddow!So NO. CNN=LOSER Anyone who believes that PR needs his head examined.

You just can't look at 1 set of numbers for data.You have total viewers but the demo is how youmake money.. TVN only provides a fraction of thedata. There are also 18-29,18-34,18-49 and onand on. 18-49 is way more attractive than 25-54.It is the ultimate money maker in television. 360has only been on at 8 since August. 360 loses intotal viewers but wins the demo . Call it a splitdecision.360 topped MSNBC in the demo at 10.MSNBC made the switch to ED at 8 because ofthe demo. So far ED is not performing any betterin the demo up against 360.TRMS is the bufferfor MSNBC. Not ED or TLW.

ADWEEK has an article on CNN and the turnaround in 2011. SNL KAGAN says CNN made$ 547.2 million dollars in revenue. That is a10 % increase. CNN makes millions by usingthe 18-49 demo for 360. FNC brought in$ 683 million, a 15 % increase. The bottom lineis that CNN is making money and to the topbrass that is all that freaking matters. Nothingwas available for MSNBC. Just count the numberof commercials you get in both hours of 360.Keep in mind that is just ad revenue data. Millions are made in other areas. There havelong been rumors that advertisers demanded360 to 8 PM. It paid off for CNN.

Yes,360 needs to up it's game. Better content,faster paced, original reports, a wide ranging mix of guests for interviews, less reliance onpundits, better production, better music,etc.Rule # 1 : don't diss those loyal 360 viewers.The addition of Isha Sesay for the 360 Bulletinwas a smart move as well. The best chemistryyou get all day long on CNN. It looks like JasonCarroll is now with Team 360 .360 needs totap into all of the correspondents at CNN fororiginal 360 reports. Give them time to goout and cover news you won't see anywherein TV or anything like it in TV. Give thesereports a cool name. Something like the three,six, zero, which can be used as a worldwidearea code for news. No boundaries.

Management should give 360 the freedom tobe creative, innovative to think out of the box.Charlie Moore & CO have really done theirjobs. Hands off. For goodness sake don't movehim to Out Front. Keep him with 360. Likeit or not 360 is the best thing CNN has goingfor it now and into 2012.

Thank you for this blog. It is good to seethat CNN has fans who actually come hereto post their concerns. Hopefully the CNNfolks read this blog.. Who knows maybe there will be an uptick in ratings for 360in 2012

"The 18-49 is way more attractive than the 25-54." Have you been living under a rock?How old ARE you?Then you need to find yourself NEW and improved data.You have not been reading the NYT lately or the Wall Street Journal.Both have reported that the "18-49age bracket NO LONGER MAKES THE MOST MONEY.Those are the people this recession hurt the most. Sorry but tis true.It is the 54 and over crowd that seems to have the most money because of that aged old relics: PENSIONS AND SOCIAL SECURITY.Plus they were the savers, and their mentality was different because of the horror stories related to them about the depression from their parents.So they saved their pennies, went into practical employment, such as teaching, duh, and now they are hardly what you would call "poor."Most of this age bracket, that you have written off, no longer have mortgages, so they are NOT under water, and are able to SPEND FREELY.This new data was also on 60 Minutes some time ago.And just so you know, the adds that run in the NYC area on 360, are focused on this group: 25-54.The NEW AND IMPROVED money makers.How about that??"Ya just gotta do more readin"